


Hold On Tight

by interstellarstars



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: M/M, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24291928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interstellarstars/pseuds/interstellarstars
Summary: "He looks at Sokka, who is leaning on the edge of the airship, picking at his fingers, and Zuko wants to freeze this moment in time.  But he’s a fire bender.  He rushes into things with the force of a raging fire, he tumbles forward without stopping, he burns.  He burns and burns and feels too deeply, and is destruction.  Zuko thinks he could never love Sokka the way he deserves."On the way back from the Boiling Rock to the Western Air Temple, Zuko and Sokka's relationship blooms.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 1193





	Hold On Tight

Sokka has fallen asleep somewhere within Azula’s airship. Zuko wishes he could feel relaxed enough to sleep, he is exhausted from the recent rescue mission. Though he knows that there will never be a time he feels safe in anything that has ties to the Fire Nation ever again. Seeing Azula, Mai, even Ty Lee took a lot out of Zuko, and being a prisoner of the Boiling Rock, no matter how short lived, was something that made him feel sick.

However, there was more to Zuko’s feeling of sickness than the adrenaline rush from almost being killed by Azula. There were other feelings that were rising to the surface, feelings that Zuko had thought he tucked away long ago.

Mai had seemed genuinely heartbroken, and Zuko did not understand why. Was he ever a good boyfriend? Or even a good friend? Did Mai actually care for him? Apparently, yes. She had saved him and the others, and was now facing Azula’s wrath for it.

Though he tries, Zuko can not feel the way about Mai that Sokka feels for Suki. Seeing how Sokka talks about Suki, and the most simple thing of the way he looks at her, confused Zuko. He could never feel that way about Mai, and he was starting to understand why.

Zuko stares into the dark clouds, anxious, like always. It is the airship, the feeling of being connected to the Fire Nation, but it is so much more.

“Hello, Prince Zuko.”

Zuko jumps. He feels his heart in his throat while he turns around. It is Sokka’s father, Hakoda. 

“It’s really just Zuko, sir,” he responds. 

“Well, Zuko. You can call me Hakoda. Thank you for your help. You and Sokka fight well together.”

Something about being a fire bender that no one told you, was that being able to feel heat made your blushes even stronger. Zuko turns away from Hakoda when he feels his cheeks heat up.

“Thank you.”

There is silence, which Zuko hates. He knows what is happening. Sokka’s father is looking at him and trying to read him. Zuko can practically hear the gears turning with the question: can he be trusted?

What has Hakoda heard? Zuko knows he has done terrible things, he knows they do not even need to be exaggerated for someone to hate him for it. Zuko squirms, he doesn’t like being under Hakoda’s watch. However, when he turns around, Hakoda is staring at the stars.

Zuko doesn’t say anything. It is something he’s learned recently, that he does not need to be the first to speak.

“The stars aren’t as bright as they were in the Southern Water Tribe,” says Hakoda. 

“Do you miss them?” 

“Yes.”

Zuko looks outward. The stars are dim, but much brighter than they ever were when he lived in the Fire Nation.

“Do you miss anything?” Hakoda asks.

Zuko tenses. He knows what the question really means: are you still loyal to the fire nation? 

“I miss-” Zuko hesitates. “I miss having a family. Not what you would think though!” He says after seeing Hakoda’s mouth turn downward. “I don’t miss my father, or my sister. I miss my mother, though. And I guess, feeling safe. I miss feeling safe.”

Hakoda nods.

“I know what you mean. But, Zuko, there might be a war going on, and you might be a fugitive -- sorry -- but you’re safe. The people you know now would never hurt you.”

Zuko knows that the story of his scar and Agni Kai has traveled further than ever in the last few months. Does Hakoda think he’s weak? Does he think Zuko is broken? A scared child? Suddenly, Zuko needs to be anywhere else. He needs to be away from the sky and away from Hakoda.

“I’m gonna go to sleep,” Zuko says.

He brushes by Hakoda, ignoring his protesting words, and starts to the center of Azula’s airship. He knows he’ll never fall asleep, but he needs to be alone.

Zuko finds a room barely bigger than a closet, and closes the sliding door behind him. Before he knows it, he starts to cry. They are silent tears, and only a few at all, but it is more than he’s done in years. He’s weak. Pathetic. Two sentences from a father figure and he’s a blubbering baby.

Zuko breathes. He makes sure his mind doesn’t wander, and he breathes. Just like he’s been telling Aang to do. In, hold, out, hold. Over and over again. Minutes pass, and Zuko’s face is dry again. 

Zuko slides open the door, hating the metal feel of the handle. He steps out, but doesn’t know which way to go. He stands in the hallway for a weirdly long amount of time, then heads towards one of the bedrooms.

He opens the door to one and can immediately tell it was Mai’s room. He slides the  
door closed, there’s no need to wallow.

The next room is Azula’s. There is barely anything in it, Azula never cared for material possessions. However, there is a huge, expensive looking bed, with a sleeping Sokka in it

Zuko practically recoils. To see someone so dear to him sleeping in Azula’s bed makes him sick. Yet, it is something he admires about Sokka -- his ability to remove context from his surroundings; his optimism. Sokka would never see this bed as something rotten, something a tortured princess slept in, dreamt in, plotted in. He only saw it as a bed. 

Sokka rolls over, and stretches. His eyes flutter open, and meet Zuko’s.

“Uh, hi?” Says Sokka. “Enjoying the view?”

“No, I -- Um -- It’s just. My sister’s room. It creeps me out,” Zuko responds. Which was completely true. The room did creep Zuko out. The preciseness of every lamp, the Fire Nation flag, the bed that Sokka was sleeping in. It made him uneasy.

“This is AZULA’s room!? Wow. I expected… I don’t know. The heads of her enemies scattered about, I guess,” Sokka says.

And there it is. The way Sokka sees the world. Literal and illogical. Beautiful, though.

“Yeah, those would be under the bed,” Zuko jokes. 

Sokka laughs.

“Wait. That is a joke, though, right?” 

Zuko nods with a smile. He is calm around Sokka, even though Azula’s room is not where he wants to be. Is Mai’s any better though? His ex-girlfriend, the group’s savior, a prisoner of the Fire Nation at this point. All she and Zuko did was sit around being angry. Zuko doesn’t want to be angry anymore. He’s burned out that emotion, he wants something sweeter.

Sokka is looking at him.

“Let’s get out of here. I’m getting the heebie-jeebies,” Sokka says.

Zuko knows Sokka would be fine to lay back down and sleep until they reach the Western Air Temple. That is who Sokka is, though. Someone who will take the blame for something to make you feel better. Zuko was extremely grateful.

The two of them step out of Azula’s room, and Sokka leads the way to the top deck. Everyone who travels with Aang loses their fear of heights eventually. It took Zuko a bit, and Sokka has mentioned that he’s fallen off of Appa too many times to count, but was saved every time.

Zuko doesn’t see Hakoda, he must have gone back to sleep. He follows Sokka, not grateful for company, but grateful for Sokka’s company.

They don’t look at each other, or say anything for a few minutes once reaching the top deck, but it is a comfortable silence. Sokka is the one who breaks it.

“Nights are hard for me,” he says.

“What do you mean? You can sleep through almost anything!” Zuko responds.

“Yeah, but --” Sokka falters. “I hate when the moon comes out.”

Oh. Zuko had brushed it off when Sokka had told him about Yue earlier, but he had heard the story from Katara. It was a brutal one. Sokka continues.

“I just feel guilty. Staring at the moon -- at her -- while I’m here moving on.” Sokka’s eyes go wide, like he’s told Zuko a secret.

“I think Yue would like Suki,” says Zuko.

“Suki and I aren’t -- we aren’t. Anymore. Um, yeah.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Sokka.”

And then Zuko feels it. What he tries to push down every day. The thing he never felt with Mai. Pure and overwhelming affection. He looks at Sokka, who is leaning on the edge of the airship, picking at his fingers, and Zuko wants to freeze this moment in time. But he’s a fire bender. He rushes into things with the force of a raging fire, he tumbles forward without stopping, he burns. He burns and burns and feels too deeply, and is destruction. Zuko thinks he could never love Sokka the way he deserves.

“Thank you for trusting me, Zuko,” Sokka says suddenly.

Zuko doesn’t respond, his mouth is hanging open. He is the one who should thank Sokka for trusting him. Zuko is Fire-Lord Ozai’s son. What is Sokka talking about?

“You treated me like a leader. You stayed when you didn’t know if you’d be able to leave. You trusted that I had the ability -- that we had the ability -- to get out of there. I don’t know if the others would have done that. Thank you.”

Zuko can barely breathe.

“Sokka. Of course. Of course! I trust you with my life. You’re a born leader.”

“The others don’t treat me like it, though. They never have. It was a nice change.” 

Sokka looks up, and Zuko meets his eyes. They stand there looking at each other, until Sokka cracks a smile. Zuko smiles back. Then, they are laughing, something they often do after near death experiences. Zuko doesn’t know why; he knows it's probably not healthy, but he loves to laugh with Sokka.

The charm is broken eventually, and the mood, though not somber, becomes more serious. 

“Can I ask you something, Zuko?”

“Sure,” Zuko says.

“If we win the war, what’s gonna happen to you?” Sokka asks.

Zuko has thought about that exact question before. He knows Aang has power, but enough to save Zuko from prison? He’s burnt down towns with innocent people in them. Zuko doesn’t think he even knows how to be anything but an outsider, a fugitive, a criminal. He’s never been anything else, and when the war ends, he doubts that will change.

“I honestly don’t know,” says Zuko. “Trying to get rid of me?” he asks, trying to lighten the mood.

“No! The opposite. I don’t know when the right time for emotions is, but considering we all almost died back there, and almost die practically every day, I just want to say that I don’t ever want you gone. Sorry, is that too much?”

Zuko can’t stand it, nor can he suppress it any longer. He wants to kiss Sokka. He wants to kiss Sokka more than he’s ever wanted to kiss anyone in his life. He takes a step closer, but hesitates. Surely he will ruin everything if he kisses Sokka. Sokka the womanizer. He’d throw Zuko off of the airship.

“Zuko?” Asks Sokka. You okay?”

All it takes is one second of bravery. One second to say: fuck the consequences! Zuko closes the gap, grabs Sokka’s cheeks, and kisses him. Sokka doesn’t pull away, but seems surprised.

But then, Zuko feels one of Sokka’s hands on his back, and then the other on his waist, and Sokka leans into him.

Zuko is not a prince. He is not a fire-bender. He is not the avatar’s enemy, nor his teacher. He is kissing Sokka, and he is finally Zuko.

They pull away from each other, but their faces remain close. Neither of them say anything. Then, Sokka practically jumps onto Zuko, and hugs him.

Zuko was never hugged in his childhood. This hug makes up for it.

“I’m so glad you feel the same way,” Sokka says.

Zuko doesn’t let go. He doesn’t let go of Sokka’s hand as they tip-toe to Ty Lee’s room, the only room that doesn’t have a terrible aura. Zuko doesn’t let go as they crawl into a twin-sized bed. He holds onto Sokka for dear life. Sokka kisses him again, and then pulls him close, and Zuko doesn’t let go.

He holds Sokka as he falls asleep on the Fire Nation airship.


End file.
